The leaders of the Government parties have this evening agreed that NPHET's recommendations to end almost all remaining health restrictions should be accepted.
Last Friday, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the Government would be accepting all advice supplied by the National Public Health Emergency Team, with the measures due to come into force this day next week.
The final decision will be taken by the Cabinet tomorrow morning. If agreement is reached, as expected, the changes would take effect from 28 February.
This would mean that mask wearing in schools, retail settings and on public transport would be voluntary from next Monday.
It is likely people would still be advised to continue wearing masks on public transport, but it would not be underpinned by law.
Physical distancing measures in schools, such as pods, would also end next week.
NPHET itself will be wound-up too, but the Office of the Chief Medical Officer will continue to monitor the "epidemiological profile of the disease."
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Meanwhile, children between the ages of 12 and 15 are set to be offered Covid-19 booster vaccinations, according to the Minister for Health.
Stephen Donnelly said the move follows advice from the National Immunisation Advisory Committee.
"It's important that we continue to protect ourselves and those around us from Covid," Mr Donnelly posted on Twitter.
The Department of Health has today been notified of 3,473 PCR-confirmed cases of Covid-19. Yesterday, 2,865 people registered a positive antigen test through the HSE portal.
As of 8am today, 634 Covid-19 patients are in hospital, of whom 53 are in intensive care.
Three days of Covid data was released today.
Yesterday, the Health Protection Surveillance Centre was notified of 3,351 PCR-confirmed cases of Covid and 2,574 people registered a positive antigen test the previous day.
On Saturday, the HPSC was notified of 4,847 PCR-confirmed cases and 3,076 people registered a positive antigen test the previous day.
In Northern Ireland, a further Covid-19 booster vaccine is to be offered to all those aged 75 and over.
The Department of Health said the additional jab will also be offered to anyone over the age of 12 who is immunosuppressed.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has advised that those at a higher risk of infection receive an additional booster this spring.
Patricia Donnelly, head of Northern Ireland's vaccination programme, said: "Covid-19 has now been with us for two years and we know that it has disproportionately affected a number of groups including; older adults, residents in care homes and those with certain underlying health conditions.
"We can also see from the evidence that the booster programme introduced in September 2021 has provided high levels of protection against severe disease.
"The latest data from the UK Health Security Agency has indicated that while protection against mild infection appears to wane, protection against severe illness and hospitalisation is well maintained in older adults, underlining the importance of the booster, particularly for vulnerable groups.
"The latest advice from the JCVI will help us transition to the next phase of our programme and enable us to put operational plans in place for 2022 and onwards so that we can continue to offer the vaccination and the protection it provides to those most at risk from the virus at the most appropriate time."
'Bizzare' to believe Omicron is not a problem
Dr Margaret Harris of the World Health Organization has said that it is "bizarre" to believe that Omicron is not a problem.
Dr Harris told RTÉ's Drivetime that 75,000 people died from Covid last week and Omicron is the dominant variant.
"I would hate to look in the eyes of the relatives of those 75,000 people and claim that this was a mild disease. In the people who are vulnerable, it is a very serious disease and it has to be taken seriously," she said.
She said that the emergence of the Omicron sub-variant is "certainly something we are watching".
When asked if she was concerned about Covid-19 restrictions being dropped, she said: "We certainly are concerned that countries may be simply following what others are doing instead of really looking at their own epidemiology and what is going on with their own outbreaks and in their own communities."
Dr Harris also said that mask wearing "has been really protective" and it "should continue regardless of whether it is a rule or not".
Additional reporting Paul Cunningham
